This summer I’m taking a Dale Carnegie course while I’m on a hiatus from teaching and launching a business. I’m attempting to note my learning and reflections on the class as I go. If you missed them, you might want to read my posts from week one, two, and three.

During the week of session 4, I was out of town on vacation with my family. Therefore, I didn’t attend class, but I did keep up with the readings.

“Live in day-tight compartments.”

My biggest takeaway from the homework was Mr. Carnegie’s advice in How to Stop Worrying and Start Living to “live in day-tight compartments.” As I begin this transition, I’m overwhelmed by all there is to do. I feel I’m going in 800 different directions and not getting far down any one path. I’m also starting to stress over all the change we’re undertaking. I need to stop and focus on today. I can focus on tomorrow when it gets here, but I need to take care to make everything I can out of today.

So What?

I may have made a mistake in keeping a long “to-do” list of all the things I need to accomplish each day. The truth is I never get the majority of it done and it stresses me out. Instead, I’m going to shorten my “to-do” list to 2-3 things for each day and make sure I focus on accomplish them within the day. I’ll return to the Pomodoro Technique and my pomodori posts to help me be productive and stay on task. Other items will go on a “someday” list and may eventually make it to my to-do list. Hopefully, this will help me practice living in “day-tight compartments.”

So that’s the plan for now. What tips or advice do you have for “living in day-tight compartments?” I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts.